Articles by Christopher Whittall
Fudge or fix?
Barclays announced in September it had sold $12.3 billion of credit assets to a newly established fund called Protium Finance. The acquisition was largely financed by a loan from Barclays, meaning the bank has insulated itself against further mark-to…
A matter of trust
More than a year on from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, administrators are still trawling through the estate of Lehman Brothers International (Europe). A scheme of arrangement designed to speed up the return of trust assets to clients failed to win…
A tangled web
One year on from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, administrators are still trawling through the complex web of special-purpose vehicles launched by the broker-dealer. A number of lawsuits have resulted - and the rulings could see US and UK courts at…
Back to repack
Despite the flak off-balance-sheet vehicles have received since the onset of the financial crisis, dealers report increased use of special-purpose vehicles by investors looking to repackage assets. Why are investors looking to these repackaging vehicles…
Spreading fear
As credit spreads on financial institutions widened in the second half of 2008, some banks registered substantial gains on their own debt. The International Accounting Standards Board has subsequently ignited a debate over the inclusion of credit risk in…
Retention rage
The European Parliament and the US Treasury are pushing ahead with plans to introduce retention charges for securitisation deals in an effort to align the interests of investors and originators. But market participants complain the move is ill-conceived…
